Lillard, McCollum lead Blazers past Lakers
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum each scored 24 points to power the Portland Trail Blazers to a 105-98 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night at Moda Center.
Mason Plumlee added 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Trail Blazers (20-27), who won their second straight game.
Reserve guards Lou Williams (31 points) and Jordan Clarkson (22) led the Lakers (16-33), who lost for the seventh time in eight outings.
McCollum had 16 points and Lillard 13 as the Blazers, who shot .533 from the field, held a 59-58 lead at intermission. Williams scored 16 points for the Lakers before the break.
Portland opened the third quarter with a 13-2 surge to jump in front, 72-60. The Blazers led 83-75 going into the final period.
Williams buried three straight 3-pointers, then knocked down a jumper to get the Lakers within 89-88 with 8:30 to play. Nick Young sank back-to-back 3-point shots to push the Lakers in front 94-91 with 5:35 left.
Lillard was fouled shooting a 3-pointer and made three free throws to square the game at 94-94 with 4:41 to go. McCollum's 3-pointer gave Portland a 97-94 lead with 3:14 remaining. McCollum's driving layup made it 99-94 with 2:41 to play.
Larry Nance Jr. converted a dunk to cut it to 99-96, but Plumlee dunked at the other end to extend the Blazers' advantage to 101-96 with 1:55 left.
Lillard scored on a runner for a 103-96 lead with 46 seconds left. Clarkson answered with a bank shot to cut it to 103-98, but Plumlee's dunk wrapped it up seconds later.
With Lillard scoring 11 quick points, Portland jumped to a 26-19 lead. The Lakers scored 10 straight to go ahead 29-26. They took a 31-30 advantage into the second quarter.
The Blazers outscored the Lakers 13-4 to start the quarter to go on top 43-35. The Lakers responded with a 17-9 run to seize a 54-52 lead. Portland carried a one-point edge into the half.
NOTES: The Trail Blazers celebrated the 40th anniversary of the only NBA championship team in their history with a halftime presentation. The leader of that team was C Bill Walton, whose son, Luke, coaches the Lakers. "I'm a Blazer," Bill Walton said, "but I want what's best for my son." Said Luke: "If he's out there in a Blazer jersey, I won't be upset. But I would hope he's rooting for his son to have some success." ... The Lakers were coming off a 122-73 lacing by Dallas on Sunday, the most one-sided defeat in franchise history. "We shouldn't need that to be motivated to play tonight," Walton said before the game. "We're a team near the bottom trying to fight our way up. Portland has beaten us 10 straight times. There are all sorts of different motivations you can find."